Concert Impressions from Schweiklberg, Bavaria (Germany)

Finale highlight concert at Schweiklberg Abbey on Saturday, April 9, at 7 pm

Beautiful Schweiklberg Abbey in Vilshofen, Germany, will be the finale concert venue of the 2011 Incantato Performance Tour Cruise for the YPAS travelers on Saturday, April 9, at 7 pm. The abbey was founded in 1905 by Cölestin Meier and five other monks. The church - where the performance will take place - has two significant onion domes which are around 167 feet high. There are eight dials, six of them show the current time, the other ones show the altitude of the sun and the moon. The church was dedicated to the holy trinity in 1925.

Incantato proudly presents the Youth Performing Arts School Touring Choir together with the Cesky Krumlov Pipers at Church of Holy Corpse - April 8

On Friday, April 8 at 6:00 PM, the Youth Performing Arts School Touring Choir from Louisville, Kentucky, will perform together with the Cesky Krumlov Pipers at the Church of Holy Corpse (Kostel Boziho tela Cesky Krumlov) in Cesky Krumlov. The church belongs to the monk order of the Bohemian Crusading Knights and it is maintained by the city of Cesky Krumlov. The church and the adjacent convent were founded in 1350 by the widow of Peter I Rosenberg, member of a family that greatly influenced the city. The benefit concert takes place together with the Českokrumluvští pištci (Cesky Krumlov Pipers; see picture below) under the direction of Mrs. Renata Pyšíková. Their repertoir: old Czech music from the Renaissance period.

Incantato Tours proudly presents the Youth Performing Arts School Touring Choir at Vienna's Saint Stephen's Cathedral on Wednesday, April 6, 8:30 PM

The Youth Performing Arts School Touring Choir will perform Mozart's Requiem at Vienna's Saint Stephen's Cathedral on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 8:30PM.
Saint Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, reigns as the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schoenberg. The cathedral’s present Romanesque and Gothic façade was commissioned by Rudolf IV and stands atop the ruins of two earlier churches. The church is located in the heart of Vienna within the Stephansplatz district. It is not only considered the most important religious structure in the capital city, but the cathedral’s multi-colored tile roofing also makes it the most recognizable. Saint Stephen’s Cathedral boasts a very important organ tradition. The sanctuary’s first organ was installed in 1334 but was unfortunately destroyed during a fire in 1945. Michael Kauffmann constructed a large electric organ in its place in 1960 which includes 125 voices, four manuals, and over 9,000 pipes, all financed by public donation. In 1991 the current choir organ was built by the Austrian firm Rieger. The new mechanical organ is comprised a more modest 56 voices and four manuals.A prominent Vienna landmark, Saint Stephen’s Cathedral is featured in many media productions including films, video games, and television shows. These include the 1949 Orson Welles film “The Third Man,” and the 2004 video game “Burnout 3.” An image of the cathedral is also depicted on the Austrian 10 cent Euro coin as well as the packaging of the popular Manner-Schnitten wafer treat. In 2008, Broadway star Sarah Brightman performed a promotional concert in Saint Stephen’s Cathedral which was recorded for television broadcast and released later in DVD form.

The organs of St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna

St. Stephen's Cathedral ("Stephansdom") is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna. It has an old organ tradition.
The first mention of an organ at St. Stephen's dates back to 1334. In 1513 the organ was relocated with the addition of a magnificent organ case created by master craftsman Anton Pilgram.
In 1507 master craftsman Burchhard Tischlinger from Bolzano created the organ on the Füchsel baldachin next to the sacristy, the Cathedral's best-known organ.
As the influence of the Baroque took hold at the Cathedral, a ten-register choir organ by Imperial organ builder Ferdinand Römer was installed above the old choir stalls in 1701, followed by the large 32-register Römer organ in the western loft in 1720.
In 1797 the two oldest organs were removed to be replaced with a large, 41-register organ which was installed in the western loft.
In 1886 Friedrich Walcker created his famous 90-register Giant Organ (named after the Giants' Gate entrance below the western loft) behind the frontage of the Römer organ. The instrument was lost in the fire at the Cathedral in 1945. Its little sister, the valuable Walcker organ, can still be heard at Vienna's Votivkirche.
After the fire in 1945 Vienna organ builder Johann Michael Kauffmann created an electric choir organ from 1948-1952. He also created another organ on the western loft with funds raised from donations. This large organ comprised 4 manuals, 125 registers and around 10,000 pipes. At the time of construction the organ was one of the last to be built with electronic con-valve chests. The organ facade is one of the most remarkable examples of an exposed pipe façade in the world. The instrument was decommissioned once the new Cathedral organ was completed.
The liturgical constitution of the Second Vatican Council deemed sacred music a "necessary and integrated element" of mass, according it a new status. This also had implications for St. Stephen's Cathedral. In 1991 a new Cathedral organ was installed in the south (right-hand) aisle close to the crossing. The new instrument created by Vorarlberg organ builder Rieger has 55 registers and four manuals. This modern universal organ consists of a Baroque positive with swell function, and a romantic Schwellwerk and Hauptwerk. The mixture comprises the Solowerk with Trompete, Clairon and Cornett.

YPAS concert venue for Thursday, April 7, at 11 am: Dürnstein Monastery

Right on the Danube river - with a breathtaking view - stands the YPAS concert venue for Thursday, April 7, at 11 am: the Dürnstein Monastery ("Stift Dürnstein"). In 1372, at the place of today's monastery, a chapel was founded. Dürnstein Monastery was established in 1410 by Canons Regular from Třeboň and from 1710 rebuilt in a Baroque style according to plans by architects Joseph Munggenast, Jakob Prandtauer and Matthias Steinl. The monastery was dissolved by order of Emperor Joseph II in 1788 and fell to the Herzogenburg Priory. During the War of the Third Coalition the Battle of Dürenstein was fought nearby on November 11, 1805.
The town of Dürnstein is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the Wachau region and also a well-known wine growing area. The municipality consists of the Katastralgemeinden Dürnstein, Oberloiben and Unterloiben. The town gained its name from the medieval castle which overlooked it. The castle was called "Duerrstein" or "Dürrstein", from the German duerr/dürr meaning "dry" and Stein, "stone". The castle was dry because it was situated on a rocky hill, high above the damp conditions of the Danube at the base of the hill, and it was built of stone. Dürnstein was first mentioned in 1192, when, in the castle above the town, King Richard I Lionheart of England was held captive by Duke Leopold V of Austria after their dispute during the Third Crusade. Richard had personally offended Leopold by casting down his standard from the walls at the Battle of Acre, and the duke suspected that King Richard ordered the murder of his cousin Conrad of Montferrat in Jerusalem. In consequence Pope Celestine III excommunicated Leopold for capturing a fellow crusader. The duke finally gave the custody of Richard to Emperor Henry VI, who imprisoned Richard at Trifels Castle. Dürnstein Castle was almost completely destroyed by the troops of the Swedish Empire under Field Marshal Lennart Torstenson in 1645.